GEORGIA COAST: the BEST road trip to ST. SIMONS ISLAND, DARIEN & ST. MARYS

Traveling, of course, is about the journey, but there is something special about the feeling when you get close to your destination. I was reaching the East Coast, and I could not have picked a better spot than Georgia. Leave behind the rush of the highway and join my ride to some of the best places to visit in coastal Georgia. The cute town Darien, scenic St. Simons Island, and St. Mary's, with its long history and stunning nature. Now I'm waiting for this big one here to pass. Quite a few containers here on this little train. Good morning to a new day of riding in Georgia. Today I will make my way to the coast, which is a little milestone of this trip because I will then have traveled from LA, from Los Angeles, on the West Coast, all the way to the East Coast of the United States. That's so crazy. Even though I had quite a distance to cover, I decided to not ride on the interstate, but to stick to smaller highways to at least see some of Georgia's smaller towns and local life. I am in Reidsville now, and from here it's about 80 miles to Darien, which is a small town close to the coast that I am heading to first. Oh my God, that's a lot of American flags, but we're not gonna stop here. We take a right direction to Landville and then head to the coast. Today we will discover the coast of Georgia, and our start is in the beautiful little town of Darien. Darien in Georgia was founded in 1736 and is the second oldest town in the state. Its history, culture, and beautiful marshland views make Darien a highly frequented weekend destination. Darien's past is quite turbulent, though. Once home to a riverfront commercial district that rivaled with Savannah, most of the town was burned to the ground in 1863 during Civil War. Only 10 years later, a hurricane swept through Darien and destroyed many of the buildings that had survived the burning. Today, Darien has an industry rich in seafood, and shrimp boats line the docks. Vernon Square is located right in the heart of Darien and was designed with the concept of early town planning in Savannah in 1733. You can still see monumental homes that used to house lumber barons and merchants of the timber era. And if you wonder what all these majestic trees are that flank Darien's roads, it's oaks draped in Spanish moss. These trees are so amazing. They look like out of a fairy tale. And now I will ride to one of the most famous sites of the area here, which is an old fort, and I guess we will learn a bit more about the history of the area when we're there. Here I am, Fort King George Historic Site. I am now at the old fort, and I'm gonna show you around. No trip to Darien is complete without a stop at the Fort King George Historic Site. In the 700s, the British, French, and Spanish all contested for Georgia land. And once the British claimed the land, they had to defend it from all sides. That's why Fort King George was built. The fort you can visit today is the full reconstruction of the old wood buildings of the 18th century British fort in its most probable location based on archeological exploration and written records left. The original fort consisted of a wooden block house built of the cypress trees that grew in the surrounding swamps. Other buildings were barracks, a guardhouse, and quarters for the officers. And this is the most important place with a big misery. So it looks like there were four little toilet seats next to each other. Besides a self-guided tour of the fort, the very knowledgeable staff as well gave some useful information about how to perform surgeries, or at least how to perform surgeries a few hundred years ago. The idea behind surgeons back then is speed, skill and speed. A surgeon can take a limb off in under eight minutes. Unfortunately, if it was a compound fracture or if it was completely shattered, the only option available to them was to amputate the limb. This is a really neat instrument. It helps create an angled flap. So as I cut through my arm all the way around an oval, I'm actually leaving an angled flap. So when the limb is removed, they can actually tie it over and have a cushion for the bone. I think I have enough now of old forts and surgeries and war. Now it's time for some more pleasurable things. So I'm heading to a supposedly very idyllic island and that is about half an hour ride from here. So I'm very excited, but I'm not 100% sure. Is this the ocean or is this a river? But I'm crossing over to St. Simon's Island now and I think this is something to celebrate. I made it from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States of America and riding across the country, check. Just in case you were wondering why all the roads were so extremely busy and all the hotels the last days completely booked, it was a national holiday, Memorial Day, while I traveled through Georgia. I would have liked to stay here, but everything was booked. So I will just check it out now. I am at St. Simon's Island now and checking out this famous pier where people are fishing. St. Simon's Island was voted the number one favorite beach town by Travel and Leisure. It is the perfect mix of a seaside idyll and small town charm. The island is located on the southeast corner of Georgia, about equal distance from the two next big cities, Savannah and Jacksonville, making this barrier island community an ideal destination for a quick getaway. The St. Simon's Island Pier Village District is situated on the southern end of the island where it serves as the epicenter of the Golden Isle community. At Mallory Street on the southern end of the village, you'll find a scenic promenade and the St. Simon's Island Pier. The pier overlooks the St. Simon's Island and Jekyll Island to the south, as well as the lighthouse and Neptune Park. The pier is nearly always crowded with fishermen and one of the best things to do in St. Simon's is just watching them getting their catches. The secret supreme discipline of fishing seems to be crabbing, though, and all age groups participate in this hobby. You don't want it? Can I get it? Cool. Are they not eatable? No, they are. I just don't want it. I'm trying to get crab. Ah, you're trying to get crabs, okay. My cousin are doing a challenge. It's like, you can't buy anything, you just gotta catch and cook it. Yeah, oh, wow. So, there is another fort here at St. Simon's Island. I will not look at it because I already looked at one fort. So, I'm gonna continue to the next island. Next island I want to go to is Jekyll Island. And do you guys know Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? That name, of course, reminds me of that. I don't know if it has something to do with each other. Maybe someone of you knows. But anyways, there are supposed to be super nice beaches on the island. And maybe I can find a place to stay there. So again, a few changes of plans. I wanted to go to Jekyll Island next because there is a very famous beach called Driftwood Beach. But it turned out there's a huge traffic jam due to an accident, like 25 minutes on the bridge to there. So, I decided not to go there and head to my final destination for today more quick, which is St. Mary's. These endless marshlands, they're just super stunning. If you look at them, they stretch really to the horizon here. So, I'm very happy at the moment because I think I chose the right destination for me. It's Memorial Day, so literally everything is booked. And St. Mary's was the only place I could find a room in a surrounding of, I think, like 150 kilometers. And this is the main road when entering St. Mary's. And everywhere else, there were traffic jams today. And this here feels pretty chill. I already love this atmosphere here. So, it's very satisfying when you feel like you picked the best place to stay. I indeed chose the perfect place to spend my first real night on the East Coast and my last night in Georgia before reaching the last state of my journey. The Spencer House Inn Bed and Breakfast was built in 1872 and is located in the heart of the historic district of St. Mary's, within walking distance to all restaurants and the ferry that takes you to Cumberland Island. The Spencer House Inn has 14 guest rooms, each individually decorated, and it really feels like making a journey back in time and history. St. Mary's calls itself the Gateway to the Georgia Coast. Settled in the 16th century as a part of Spanish Florida, St. Mary's became a part of Georgia in 1763. You can visit downtown St. Mary's or walk to St. Mary's Waterfront Park that was the site of the colony's shipbuilding and trading hub in the 1800s. The community as well offers a self-guided historic walk that will teach you more about the history of the historic churches, buildings, and gardens. St. Mary's is most famous for its ferry terminal to the Cumberland Island. Unfortunately, I was too late to still catch a ferry though, but Cumberland Island is declared a National Seashore and supposed to be an outstanding nature experience with untouched beaches and wild horses. I got a little glimpse of the majestic ecosystem that is home to many rare species when walking along St. Mary's River and looking over the white marshes. Thank you for joining the journey to Georgia's coast. If you liked this trip, subscribe to my channel to be part of the next adventures and leave a comment and a thumbs up. The next episode will take us to our final destination. I will cross into Florida. If you thought that Florida has nothing to offer for motorcyclists, you are wrong. I will take you to the state's best roads all the way to Miami. We all got to go.